Roman Catholic bishops in Connecticut have agreed to let hospital personnel give emergency contraception to all rape victims, reversing their decision days before a new state law requires it.

Okay, so they were forced to comply. Whatevs. At least women in Connecticut can rest a little easier. But here’s an interesting tidbit. Apparently, state church officials wanted to mandate an ovulation test for women seeking emergency contraception before they would dispense it. The idea being if a woman was ovulating there was a better chance of conception having taken place–and then they wouldn’t give her EC.
And people have the nerve to argue that anti-choice shit isn’t about controlling women’s bodies?

At this rate, 2015 is looking like it will continue the trend that we’ve seen the last four years, during which states have passed a record-breaking 231 laws restricting abortion. Despite this onslaught, a recent Gallup poll shows that many Republicans want abortion laws to be even more strict. Ironically, their dissatisfaction has increased during the time when state laws have, in fact, become stricter. And Gallup suggest the results might ...

The new documentary Vessel tells the story of Women on Waves, founded by Dutch doctor Rebecca Gomperts who sailed the world in an “abortion ship,” offering off-shore medical abortions in the international waters surrounding countries where abortion is outlawed. Her project eventually morphed into Women on Web, which does great, life-saving work by sending abortion pills by mail to people lacking legal access. The film has opened in NYC, and is now available for streaming on iTunes.

Also, be sure to check out this interview with director/producer Diana Whitten on the Community site. As she notes, the story, unfortunately, holds particular relevance in the US today. “Due to recent legislative attacks on reproductive healthcare, the situation for U.S. women in many ...

The new documentary Vessel tells the story of Women on Waves, founded by Dutch doctor Rebecca Gomperts who sailed the world in an “abortion ship,” offering off-shore medical abortions in the international waters surrounding countries where abortion is ...

Well, we knew 2013 was bad. And 2012 was almost as bad. And 2011 was actually the worst ever. So it’s no surprise that Guttmacher’s latest tally of state abortion restrictions shows that 231 abortion restrictions have been enacted in the past four years.

The 26 new restrictions added to the tally in 2014 was out of a total of 335 anti-choice bills that state legislatures considered (so it could totally be worse) and it’s certainly an improvement over the few years prior.

Also on the good news front: pro-choice legislators went on the offensive last year more than they have in decades. State legislators introduced 95 bills to expand access to abortion, according to Guttmacher tally. More ...